TEL AVIV?On a glorious Monday afternoon less than 100 feet from the beach, most passersby likely would not have noticed the modest, five-minute ceremony that consisted of three framed photos, a plaque, a short speech, and a prayer.

But to the small group of about 40 who gathered here, next-door to the U.S. Embassy, the service could not have been more meaningful.

Two years ago, a story familiar to far too many Israelis became part of their lives when a terrorist blew himself up in front of the bar Mike?s Place and killed three innocent victims: waitress Dominique Hass, 29, and amateur musicians Ron Baron, 23, and Yanai Weiss, 46.  Hass wasn?t even on the schedule to work that night; she picked up a shift because she needed money.

The damage could have been even worse: security guard Avi Tabib saved many lives by pushing away Asif Muhammad Hanif, a 22-year-old British subject of Pakistani origin, preventing the terrorist from maximizing the death toll by detonating inside the establishment.

In another country?almost anywhere else in the world, for that matter?the bomb that thoroughly gutted the blues bar would have meant the death of the business.  Not in Israel.  Not at Mike?s Place.

Within seven days, Mike?s Place reopened?on Israeli Independence Day, fittingly enough.  It had taken nearly seven weeks for it to be built the first time around.  Like many Israeli victims of terror, the goal is to return to life as usual as quickly as possible.  Not to pretend that a trauma hasn?t occurred, but rather to show that it hasn?t achieved its intended goals of devastation and debilitation.

The intervening week was largely a blur for the Mike?s Place family, with nowhere near the necessary time to process emotions and genuinely grieve.

When told by his brother that he was a ?hero,? Avi?who had just regained consciousness in his hospital bed?slowly raised his middle finger.  The hero believed he was just doing his job. 

After completing a lengthy stint in the hospital and then in outpatient rehab, Avi returned to work at Mike?s Place?standing in the exact same place as he was on April 30, 2003.  His life has evolved as it should; he?s now moved on from his youthful job, and he?s getting married next month. Continued...